Lock mechanism for vise or clamp



June 17, 1958 c. o. LASSY 2,338,948

LOCK MECHANISM FOR VISE OR CLAMP Filed July 51, 1957 1s v xiv" l 42 H9.3 Fig. 6

40 Carl Oscar Lassy 26 34 INVENTOR.

BY WW 19m United States Mao {The present invention generally relates tovises or clamps such as C-clamps and more specifically pertainsto alocking mechanism for thetmovable jawthereof.

The'prirnary object of the present invention is to provide a lockingmechanism for vises or C-clamps wherein a'tiltable nut is engaged withthe threads ona jaw carrying rod or bar for efiectingthe' locking ofthejaw with a carn mechanism being associatedwith the tiltable nut forselectively moving the nut for permitting free movement of the bar, orpermitting engagement of the teeth on the'nut with the bar forpermitting a fine adjustment to be provided or for urging he nut and barto -a locked position with the jaw moved to a clamping position thusfacilitating the'repetitive locking action which will be of apositivenature but yet which may be finely adjusted and completely released witha minimum of movement relocking mechanism for the, movable jaw of a viseor :cl'arnp in which a. substantially straight line pressure is exertedon the jaw carrying rod or bar thus preventing excessive side pressureexerted onthe locking bar for eliminating excessive wear on the lockingbar housing.

These together with other objects and advantageswhich will becomesubsequently, apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of the present invention showing the nutcompletely tilted' to an unlocked position for permittingfree-longitudinal movement of the locking bar;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the nut tilted to anintermediate position with the nut threads firmly engaged with thethreads on the locking bar for permitting fine adjusment of the bar byrotation thereof and providing positive locking.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the nut moved formoving the locking bar longitudinally for moving the movable vise jawinto gripping position;

Figure 4 is a transverse section view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 4-4 of Figure 1 showing the details ofconstruction thereof;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 5-5 of Figure 4 showing the relationship tothe recess and cam engaged therein;

Figure 6 is an exploded group perspective view of the tiltable nut andthe cam member for tilting the same; and

Figure 7 is an end view of the tiltable nut illustrating the specificconstruction of the segmental threads.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 illustrates aframe member which is stationarily mounted and may be convenientlymounted on a supporting base which is also provided with a stationaryjaw, not shown. The frame 10 is provided with a longitudinal bore 12Another object of'the present invention is to provide a 29 asillustrated in Figures l-3.

Patented June 17, 1953 slidably receiving an elongated rod or bar 14which is externally threaded and which is provided at one end thereofwith a movable vise jaw or clamp jaw, not shown. The frame or bodymember 10 is also provided with an enlarged hollow area 16 through whichthe bar 14 also extends and a transverse bore 18 is provided in theframe 10 in communication with the enlarged hollow portion '16 with itbeing pointed out that one side of the bore 18 is recessed into theinner wall of the hollow portion 16 for' forming a surface bearing areathroughout the length of a shaft 20 having a cammed extension 22 on oneend thereof. The free end of the shaft 20 extends exteriorly of theframe or body 10 and is provided withan elongated laterally extendingspindle 24 for operation of the shaft '20. Also, the shaft 20 isprovided with a peripheral groove 26 for receiving'a substantiallyU-shaped retainer plate 28'secur'ed to the frame 10 by fasteners 30thereby maintaining the longitudinal relationship of the shaft 20 inrelation to the frame It] and maintaining the cam extension 22interiorly of the hollow portion 16 with a portion of the cam 22 beingco-extensive with the portion of the periphery of the shaft 20 forbearing engagement in the portion of a bore 18 in the outer wall of therecessed portion 16 thus rigidifying the shaft 20 and forming a supportfor they cam extension 22.

' Disposed within the hollow'area 16 in encirclingjrelation to the bar14 is a tiltable nut 32 having a generally flat rear surface 34 and aninclinedforward surface 36. A compression coil spring 38 is disposedbetween the front surface 36 and the front wall of -the hollow portion16 with the spring 38 encircling the bar 14. The rear surface 34 isprovided with a laterally extending recess 40 for engagement with thecam extension 22 on the shaft An adjustable stop member 42 extendsthrough the rear wall of the frame 10 and is provided with a slot 44 inthe outer end thereof for engagement with atool such as a screwdriver orthe like for varying the position of the stop member 42. The inner endof the stop member 42 is rounded for engagement with the rear wall 34 ofthe nut 32 in generally diametrically opposed relation to the engagementbetween the cam extension 22 and the recess 40. It is noted that the camextension 22 is always engaged in the recess 40 and will preventrotation of the nut 32 whereby rotation of the bar 14 will effect a fineadjustment of the bar 14 inasmuch as the nut 32 is provided withsegmental internal threads 46 which are diagonally opposed to each otherwith the nut 32 also being provided with a recessed area 48 in diametricrelation to the segmental threads 46. When the nut is disposed inperpendicular relation to the bar 14, the segmental threads 46 will beengaged with the threaded bar 14 whereas when the nut 32 is tilted inthe position shown in Figure l, the recessed areas 48 will be disposedadjacent the threaded bar 14 for permitting.

longitudinal sliding movement thereof without interference from the nut32. The segmental threads 46 are provided with abrupt ends rather thantapered ends thus eliminating the fiat surfaces of the threads thatwould be caused by the tapered end thus assuring positive engagementbetween the threads and the locking bar 14. The threads should be of arelatively fine nature, that is, there should be a relatively largenumber of threads per inch in order to provide a greater bearing surfacearea between the nut 32 and the bar 14 and also for providing positivelocking engagement at any point of engagement between the nut 32 and bar14.

The rod 20 is provided with any suitable mechanism for maintaining andpositioning the same in the three positions of the nut and this meansmay be three arcuately arranged recesses with a spring urged detent onthe shaft 20 or handle 24 for engagement with the indentations forindicating and maintaining the position of the nut 20.

the stationary jaw device and the nut 32 tilted to a posi-' tionreleased from the bar 14 as shown in Figure l, the low spot of the cam22 will be engaged in the recess 40 as shown in Figure 5 thus permittingthe spring 38 to cause the nut 32 to tiltfaway from the bar 14 since allpressure has been released from the nut 32 and the nut 32 has engagedthe abutment or stop member 42 which will also cause tilting thereof asa diametrically opposed edge of the nut 32 proceeds toward the rear wallof the recess portion 16. In the initial movernent of the cam surface 22in the recess 40 as the shaft 20 is rotated, the nut 32 will ride on thecamsuriace and move to a position perpendicular to the rod 14 forengaging the'segmental threads as with the rod 14. This condition isshown in Figure 2 with it being pointed out that the nut 32 has not yetmoved out of engagement with the abutment 42 and with the spring 38being compressed only a very slight amount. In this condition, a fineadjustment may be made by rotating the bar 14 many suitable manner.After the bar 14 has been adjusted to'rlisposethe jaws in the desiredrelation, a multiplicity of articles may be subsequently clamped betweenthe jaws by moving the nut 32 towards the front of the recess portion 16by moving the cam 22 to bring the high part thereof into registry withthe recess 45 as illustrated in Figure 3, which will cause the desiredlongitudinal movement of the bar 14. Thus, there has been provided alocking mechanism that is easy and simple to manufacture and easily andquickly adjusted and ispositive in its locking action and long wearing.7

The foregoing is considered principles of the invention. Further, sincenumerous modifications and changeswill readily occur to those skilled inthe art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exactconstruction and operation shown and described, and accordingly allsuitable modifications and as iilustratii e only. of the equivalents maybe resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows: 1. A locking mechanism for thejaw-carrying bar of a clamping vise comprising a hollow frame, athreaded jaw-carrying bar slidably extending through said frame, atiltable nut disposed in said frame, said nut having diagonally disposedsegmental threads for engagement with the bar when the nut is arrangedin perpendicular relation thereto, said nut also having recessed areasarranged diagonally for registry with the bar when the nut is tilted,spring means biasing said nut to a tilted position, and cam meansengaged with the nut for permitting the nut to move to a tilted positionand for moving the nut into perpendicular relation to the bar forlocking the nut and the bar together for moving the bar longitudinallyfor selective movement of the movable jaw for clamping engagement with aworkpiece, said cam means including an operating handle disposedexteriorly of the'frame.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said spring means includes acompression coil spring encircling the bar with one end engaging the nutand the other end abutting the interior of the hollow frame, anadjustable stop member extending into the hollow frame for engagementwith the nut in opposition to the spring, said stop member being oflsetfrom the bar whereby the spring will serve to retract the bar and tiltthe nut when the darn means is released. 7

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said cam means includes a shaftextending in radial relation to the bar with the inner end terminatingadjacent the bar and engaging the tint on thesame end 'as the stopmember but in diametric opposition thereto, said inner end having a camsurface on the periphery thereof, said nut having a recess in the sameend thereof for receiving the cam surface for preventing rotation of thenut whereby longitudinal force exerted on the nut will be in a straightline adjacent and parallel to the bar for reducing wear between the barand 'frame. g 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the frame isprovided with a radial bore rotatably receiving said shaft with thesurface of the bore extending to a point adjacent the bar for providinga bearing surface throughout the length of the shaft.

5. The combination of claim 5. wherein said threads in the not extendless than one-half of the circumference of the internal bore thereinwiththe threads terminating in sharp end thus eliminating any flattenedends on the threads in thenut.

No references cited.

